I try for a smile but can’t quite manage it. “Have to get the product looking as expensive as possible.”
“Something like that.” He sighs. “I don’t suppose you’ve changed your mind?”
“No.” That, at least, I’m sure of. I tilt my head to the side. “Why are you so determined to talk me out of this? I’m sure you’re being paid for your time.”
Hercules waves that away. “I get a percentage of the final total, but I don’t care about the money.”
It strikes me that money is something I’m going to have to care about, and soon. I’ve never had a job. One of Triton’s daughters working? Unthinkable. My trust fund is enough money to keep me for the rest of my life if I’m not foolish, but I won’t have access to it for another seven years.
Gods, what am I going to do?
“Zuri?” Hercules takes a step forward, his hands outstretched like he’s going to catch me. “Are you okay?”
I shake my head. “It’s nothing.” I’ll figure it out one way or another. Better yet, once Alaric is free, we’ll figure it out together. Right now, I just need to focus on getting through the next few days, the auction, and the resulting sex. That’s it. “I’m not changing my mind.”
“I figured you’d say that.” He huffs out a breath. “In that case, let’s get started.”
I’m not sure what I expected, but it’s almost exactly as Hercules said; a spa day. I’m waxed and moisturized. And then it’s on to manicures, pedicures, and my hair. I almost ask for brightly colored hair, Ursa’s red lingering in my mind, but chicken out at last moment. Instead, they refresh my deeper auburn and give me a trim. My clothes disappear during my skin treatments, and I’m given a robe that feels so decadent, it has to be astronomically expensive.
Hercules leads me several floors up. I don’t realize where we’re headed until he opens a door and I see the lounge I only got a glimpse of last night. There are no windows in this room, so it might be any hour of the day or night, but the lights are a little brighter than they were when Ursa hustled me through this room. The only testament to the Underworld being closed, aside from the obvious lack of people.
“I’m going to walk you through how it’ll go tonight. All business of this sort is set up in the public playroom because it’s the only space big enough to pull it off.” He opens the door on the other side of the lounge and motions for me to precede him.
The room is as large as our ballroom back home. There are a number of couches and chairs arranged for people to congregate in small groups, with plenty of room around them for walking with ease. There are also…things. I move toward one, Hercules silently shadowing my steps.
He speaks as I stop before it. “That’s a St. Andrew’s Cross.”
“I’m familiar with it.” Even if I hadn’t done some research once I realized the role Alaric plays in the Underworld, I’d be able to understand its purpose from the straps at the top and bottom of each part of the skinny X shape. Someone is strapped to it. I turn and look out at the room.
Someone is strapped to it in front of an audience.
A fissure of heat goes through me at the realization. I move from piece to piece, and let Hercules explain them despite my research. There’s no telling what new information I could pick up, but everything he says lines up with what I expect. I think he’s trying to scare me into changing my mind. It’s only partially working. I am scared. But the longer the knowledge of what comes next has to settle, the more a deep, dark part of me is almost looking forward to it.
I have been cosseted and protected and smothered my entire life, living by rules that aren’t my making. My sisters would expire on the spot if they knew I was going to have sex for money. The thought sends a delicious thrill through me. Dangerous to give in to that impulse. Following the tug in my stomach only leads to disappointing my father and hurting those I love.
I don’t care.
“Where will the stage be?”
Hercules’s jaw tightens, but he leads me to the center of the room. “We’ll move the furniture around to accommodate it so everyone can get a good view.”
A good view of me.
I turn slowly in place, my bare feet on the cool floor, and try to picture it. “Lights?” He points up. There are lines on the ceiling that seem to indicate part of it can shift open. “Clever.”
“Only the best in the Underworld.” He gives a grim smile. “Someone will act as auctioneer, and another will assist them and help you display yourself to the best advantage. Do you have a preference on whether it’s a man or woman?”
I frown. “No. Why would that matter?”
“Because they’re going to touch you, Zuri.” He says it almost gently. “You’ll stand there naked, and they’ll expose you and touch you and do what it takes to rile up the crowd to get the price going.”
The blood rushes from my head, and I weave on my feet a little. “Oh.”
Hercules shakes his head. “That’s it. I’m calling this off. This is a fucking mistake.”
“It’s fine,” I manage. “Even with the touching, I don’t have a preference on men or women. I like both.”
“That doesn’t change the fact that you’re clutching your robe to your chest like it’s a shield and I’m the only one standing here. What are you going to do when the room is filled?”
“I can do this.”
“No, you can’t.”
“Yes, I can!” I don’t know what possesses me to drop my robe. I don’t know what I’m trying to prove. I just react, letting the silky fabric slide from my shoulders and pool at my feet. “I’m not shy, and I have to do this.”
“That’s not a good enough reason.” Hercules glances at my body as if he can’t help himself and then jerks his gaze back to my face. “Your first time should be—”
“Don’t you dare spout that virginity nonsense at me, Hercules. It’s just sex, and people have sex for a lot crappier reasons than money, so you really don’t get to take that high-and-mighty tone with me. I’m choosing this, which is more than some people are able to do. It’s only as important as I let it be.”
I don’t realize we’re not alone until Hercules looks over my shoulder and his eyebrows rise. “Hello, Alaric.”
Oh gods.
I knew I’d have to face him eventually, but this is the worst case scenario—with the possible exception of seeing him tonight during the auction. Pride and frustration have gotten me this far. If I scramble to pick up my robe, I’ll just be proving Hercules right that I’m not ready to do this. So I brace myself, lift my chin, and turn to face the man I’m doing this for.
It’s been months since I’ve seen him. Somehow he looks better than ever. He’s wearing slacks and a gray button-down shirt, and his black hair is a little longer than when I saw him last. But those blue eyes are the same, hot and hungry and ready to devour me whole.
Alaric stalks across the room, and I’m helpless to do anything but watch him approach. He snatches up my robe and yanks it around me. “What are you doing here, Zuri?”